DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2017.v05i04.002

Pages: 262-279

Due to the increasing and successive development witnessed by the Saudi society in all fields, it is normal to find a reflection of such development in the literary sephere, especially fiction. Western influence on development of such literary genre cannot be ignored, but its influence on writings and thoughts of some Saudi women novelists was greater. Saudi female novelists have considered their novels as the strongest weapon by which they can defend women's rights and express themselves freely. Although these goals seem legal, such group of novelists adopt a rebellious strategy to achieve these goals, declaring their resistance against the long – established norms and traditions of their conservative society. Among such group who tend to present the Saudi community with western features is Zeinab Hefny. Hefny is a Saudi feminist writer known for her challenge of the dominating taboos within the Saudi community. She calls for absolute freedom of the girl, encouraging Saudi girls to abandon their old-fashioned traditions and frequently states her endorsement for illegal relations between men and women. The problem with Hefny's novels, especially Features, is that sex is employed catastrophically in her works, and therefore her works confuse critics wheather to classify them as erotic or pornographic.